U.S. Cigar Imports Show Mixed Q1 Trends

[JohnS]

U.S. Cigar Imports Show Mixed Q1 Trends

May 21, 2026 - Press Release

U.S. cigar imports ended the first quarter of 2026 with a mixed but stable overall picture. According to the Cigar Association of America’s import reports, total large cigar imports increased by 7% year-over-year to 1.85 billion sticks, mainly driven by growth in the value-tier segment. At the same time, premium large cigar imports declined slightly by 2.6%, while little cigar shipments fell sharply and cigar leaf tobacco imports remained nearly flat. 

The strongest growth came from the value-priced large cigar category under HTS code x3070, which rose 10% and accounted for approximately 80% of all large cigar imports in Q1. By contrast, the three higher HTS price tiers declined by single digits, indicating a clear separation between value-oriented demand and softer higher-tier volume trends. 

Premium large cigar imports totaled 90.86 million sticks through March, down 2.6% from the previous year. Nicaragua remained the leading supplier, although volumes declined by 4.9%, while the Dominican Republic fell by 8.2%. Honduras stood out as the strongest performer, rising 11.6% and exceeding the Dominican Republic in premium volume for the first time in the dataset. 

The quarter also showed a sharp decline in little cigars, with shipments falling 40% to 41.7 million units. However, the total value declined by only 12%, as the average value per 1,000 units increased by 48%, suggesting a shift toward higher-value products. Cigar leaf tobacco imports were broadly stable, down 1% to 3.30 million kilograms, but the report noted a shift toward lower-grade material. 

After a mixed January and stronger February, the Q1 results suggest that the U.S. cigar market remains divided. Value-tier large cigars showed clear momentum, while premium imports remained relatively stable despite softer volumes from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic. Looking ahead, Q2 data will be important to determine whether Honduras’ premium cigar recovery continues and whether Nicaragua’s 2025 high represented a peak or a temporary fluctuation.

Source: https://www.cigarjournal.com/u-s-cigar-imports-show-mixed-q1-trends/

[ElLoboLoco]

Can I bet on Honduran Cigar futures? Draftkings maybe. Lol

[JohnS]

Image credit: OpenAI

By Menachem Kossowsky - Published at: 05-25-2026

Honduras Makes History in the Premium Cigar Market

A shake-up in the rankings has cigar lovers paying attention

For the first time ever, Honduras has shipped more premium cigars to the United States than the Dominican Republic. That's the headline buried inside the latest import data from the Cigar Association of America, which tracks handmade, premium cigar shipments on a quarterly basis. The numbers covering the first three months of 2026 tell a story that nobody in the industry was necessarily expecting.

The overall picture shows a market that pulled back just a bit. The United States imported 90.9 million premium cigars in the first quarter of 2026, which works out to a three percent dip compared to the same period in 2025. That's not a dramatic drop, but the movement happening underneath that headline number is where things get interesting.

Honduras Breaks Into the No. 2 Spot

Honduras shipped 17.2 million premium, handmade cigars to the United States during the first quarter of 2026. That's up 12 percent from the 15.3 million it sent over during the first quarter of last year. It's a solid jump, and it was enough to leapfrog the Dominican Republic for the very first time, according to the CAA's records.

Twelve percent growth in a market that overall shrank by three percent is no small thing. While every other major producing country was sending fewer cigars north, Honduras was moving in the opposite direction. That kind of counter-trend performance doesn't happen by accident.

What Happened to the Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic, which now sits at No. 3 on the CAA's rankings, shipped 15.6 million cigars during the first quarter. That's down eight percent from the 17 million it shipped in the first quarter of 2025. The decline has a very specific cause.

Tabacalera de Garcia Ltd., one of the most important cigar factories in the world, was unable to ship cigars to the U.S. market during the first quarter of the year. This is a factory with a long history of producing some of the most recognizable names in the premium cigar world, including Montecristo, Romeo y Julieta and H. Upmann. When a factory of that size goes quiet, the numbers are going to feel it.

The majority of production that would have come out of Tabacalera de Garcia has been shifted to Nicaragua and Honduras, specifically to operations run by Plasencia and A.J. Fernandez. Industry sources have described the situation as temporary, but temporary or not, the impact on Dominican Republic import numbers during the first quarter was real and significant.

When One Factory Can Move the Needle

It says something about the scale of Tabacalera de Garcia that one factory's shipping disruption can measurably shift an entire country's export numbers. The Dominican Republic has been one of the dominant forces in premium cigar production for decades, and it will almost certainly return to form once the situation at that factory gets sorted out. But for now, the first quarter data reflects just how much weight that single operation carries.

Nicaragua Is Still Running the Show

None of the shuffling in the No. 2 and No. 3 spots changes the fact that Nicaragua is in a completely different league. Even though Nicaragua shipped five percent fewer cigars in the first quarter of 2026 compared to the same period last year, it still sent 56.8 million premium cigars to the United States. That number alone accounts for 62.5 percent of all premium cigar shipments coming into the country.

Put another way, Nicaragua ships more premium cigars to the United States than every other country combined, and it isn't particularly close. Honduras and the Dominican Republic together shipped around 32.8 million cigars. Nicaragua shipped 56.8 million on its own.

The Gap Is Hard to Overstate

The country has built an infrastructure for premium cigar production that is simply unmatched at this point. Factory operations in places like Estelí have grown into some of the largest and most sophisticated tobacco manufacturing facilities anywhere in the world. The five percent decline in shipments this quarter is worth noting, but it's the kind of number that could reflect any number of short-term factors without meaning anything significant about Nicaragua's long-term position.

The Rest of the Market

Beyond the big three, the rest of the premium cigar importing picture is relatively small. Countries including Costa Rica, the Philippines and Mexico fill out the remainder, but together they account for just 1.5 percent of total imports. The premium cigar market coming into the United States is, for practical purposes, a three-country story, with one of those three countries so far ahead that the real competition is for the spots behind it.

What It All Means Going Forward

The first quarter of 2026 will be remembered in the cigar industry primarily for that one milestone, the first time Honduras has ever ranked above the Dominican Republic in U.S. premium cigar imports. Whether that becomes a longer-term trend or whether it turns out to be a one-quarter anomaly driven largely by the problems at Tabacalera de Garcia is the question worth watching.

If and when Tabacalera de Garcia gets back to full operations and resumes shipping to the American market, Dominican Republic numbers should recover. At that point, Honduras would need to hold its gains on its own merits rather than benefiting partly from a competitor's misfortune. Based on that 12 percent growth rate, there's reason to think Honduran producers have real momentum right now.

A Market Worth Watching

For anyone who follows the premium cigar world closely, the first quarter data from the Cigar Association of America is a reminder that the landscape isn't as static as it sometimes seems. Countries move up and down. Factories matter. Supply chains matter. And the decisions made inside a single large factory can ripple out into the import numbers of an entire country.

The total of 90.9 million premium cigars imported in three months reflects a market that, even with a slight overall dip, remains substantial. American demand for handmade, premium cigars isn't going anywhere. The question is always which countries, which factories and which brands are going to be the ones meeting that demand. Right now, the answer looks a little different than it did a year ago.

Source: https://www.gentlemanspursuits.com/news/luxury/cigars/honduras-makes-history-in-the-premium-cigar-market-6a123a52488fa1e1a467c8de